The Curiously Stunted, Incomprehensibly Disjointed, Perfectly Inadequate Adventures of Nicholas Cornelius Holloway – Episode 55

He preferred to think about things apophatically – to assert what isn’t true rather than what is: It’s not a bad idea; She’s not a terrible oboist; I’m not having that for lunch.

It allowed him to participate in group decision-making without having to shoulder the burden of actually making decisions.

But that was just a bonus. He had a way of getting to the heart of a thing by treating the truth like a cat. If you wanted it to befriend you, he would say, it was important not to come straight...